NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lower Silesia

Lower Silesia (German: Niederschlesien; Polish: Dolny Śląsk; Latin: Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Throughout its history Lower Silesia has been under the control of medieval Poland, Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany, and after 1945 was split between Poland and Germany. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlonsk / ÅšlÃ³nsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ...

Polish Lower Silesia, the bulk of the historical region, is administratively part of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in western Poland, while a small region west of the Lusatian Neisse added to Silesia in 1815 is divided between Görlitz, Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis, and Oberspreewald-Lausitz in eastern Germany. Image File history File links Lower Silesia Coat of Arms (public domain) This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Image File history File links Lower Silesia Coat of Arms (public domain) This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ... The Lusatian Neisse (German Lausitzer Neiße, Polish Nysa Łużycka, Czech Lužická Nisa) is a river in the Czech Republic (54 km) and on Polish-German border (198 km), in total 252 km long. ... GÃ¶rlitz ( pronunciation, Lusatian: Zhorjelc, Czech ZhoÅ™elec) is a town in Germany on the river NeiÃŸe, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony, opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, with which it was united until 1945. ... The Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis (German for district of Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia) is the eastermost Kreis (district) of Saxony and Germany. ... Oberspreewald-Lausitz is a Kreis (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. ...

History

Early history

The area of all of Silesia is recorded entirely in Magna Germania two thousand years ago with a number of Germanic tribes among them the Vandals, Lugii and the Silingians. A number of groups of people came into eastern Germania from Asia throughout the centuries, and documents mention a number of tribes believed to have lived in Lower Silesia by the 4th century. Map of the Roman Empire and Germania Magna in the early 2nd century. ... The term Germanic tribes (or Teutonic tribes) applies to the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. ... The Vandals traditional reputation: a colored steel engraving of the Sack of Rome (455) by Heinrich Leutemann (1824-1904), c 1860-80 Vandal and Vandali redirect here. ... The green area is the Przeworsk culture identified with the Lugians. ...

A Bavarian geographer (ca. 845) reported the Ślężanie (from whom Silesia (Śląsk) probably takes its name) and Dziadoszanie tribes, while a document of the Bishopric of Prague (1086) listed the Zlasane, Trebovane, Poborane, and Dedositze tribes. At the same time Upper Silesia was inhabited by the Opolanie, Lupiglaa, and Golenshitse tribes. In the 9th and 10th centuries the territory was subject to the Moravian and then Bohemian rulers of the neighbouring area covered by today's Czech Republic. In 990 Silesia was conquered and incorporated into an area later called Poland by the duke Mieszko I. The Free State of Bavaria (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 kmÂ² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... The following is a list of bishops and archbishops of Prague: 1. ... Flag of Moravia Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava; German: ; Hungarian: ; Polish: ) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Reign ca. ...

Feudal fragmentation of Poland

The dukes continued pledging allegiance to the empire. Silesia was split into Lower and Upper parts in 1172 during the period of Poland's feudal fragmentation, when the land was divided between two sons of High Duke Władysław II: Bolesław the Tall ruling over Lower Silesia with his capital in Wrocław (then known as Vratislav or Prezla) and Mieszko Plątonogi ruling over Upper Silesia with his capital in Opole. WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw II the Exile. ... BoÅ‚esÅ‚aw I the Tall (Polish: BolesÅ‚aw I Wysoki; 1127 - December 7 or 8, 1201) was Duke of Silesia, 1163 - 1172. ... WrocÅ‚aw, (Polish pronunciation: (?), Czech: , German: ( (helpÂ· info)), Latin: Wratislavia or Vratislavia) is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). ... Mieszko IV Tanglefoot (Polish: Mieszko IV PlÄ…tonogi; Mieszko IV of RacibÃ³rz; ca. ... Map of Upper Silesia, 1746 Upper Silesia (Polish: GÃ³rny ÅšlÄ…sk, German: Oberschlesien, Czech: HornÃ Slezsko) is the south-eastern part of Silesia, a historical and geographical region of Poland (Opole Voivodship and Silesian Voivodship) and of the Czech Republic (Silesian-Moravian Region). ... Motto: none Voivodship Opole Municipal government Rada Miasta Opola Mayor Ryszard ZembaczyÅ„ski Area 96,2 kmÂ² Population - city - urban - density 128 800 250 000 1338/kmÂ² Founded City rights - 1217 Latitude Longitude 50Â°40 N 17Â°56 E Area code +48 77 Car plates OP Twin towns Alytus, Agii...

Later Silesia was divided into as many as 17 duchies. A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ...

According to T. Jurek, Instytut Historii PAN, Warszawa, Poland The Latin and German names were use until in the 16th century, when Polish names and Polish language began to be used.

WrocÅ‚aw, (Polish pronunciation: (?), Czech: , German: ( (helpÂ· info)), Latin: Wratislavia or Vratislavia) is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). ... Brzeg (German: ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 42,00 inhabitants (2006), situated in the Opole Voivodship. ... OleÅ›nica (German Oels or Ã–ls. ... Legnica ( , formerly Lignica; German: ) is a town in Silesia in southwestern Poland. ... ZiÄ™bice is a town on the OÅ‚awa River in the Lower Silesian Voivodship, Poland. ... Åšwidnica (German Schweidnitz) is a town in southwestern Poland. ... GÅ‚ogÃ³w (pronounce: [gÈ—oguv], German: Glogau, Czech: Hlohov, the latter rare) is a town in southwestern Poland. ... Nysa (German Neisse or Neiße) is a town in south-western Poland on the Nysa Kłodzka river, with 52,000 inhabitants (2004), situated in the Opole Voivodship. ... CoA of Å»agaÅ„ Å»agaÅ„ (French and German Sagan) is a town in western Poland with 26,500 inhabitants (2004). ... Szprotawa Coat of Arms Szprotawa (German: ) is a town in Poland, in Lubusz Voivodship, in Å»agaÅ„ County. ... Krosno OdrzaÅ„skie (German: ) is a city in Western Poland with 12,500 inhabitants (2002), situated in the Lubusz Voivodeship (since 1999), previously part of Zielona GÃ³ra Voivodeship (1975-1998). ... Åšcinawa (German: ) is a town in Poland, in Lower Silesia, in Lubin County, on the Oder River. ...

The Bohemian Crown and Austria (1348-1742)

In 1348 most of the Silesian duchies were ruled by the Silesian Piast dukes under the feudal overlordship of the Bohemian kings, and thus became part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1476 the Crossen district became part of Brandenburg, when the widow of the Piast ruler, Barbara von Brandenburg, daughter of elector Arbert Achilles, inherited Crossen. In 1526 Silesia was acquired by Austria's Habsburg Monarchy after the death of King Louis II of Bohemia. All of Silesia was inherited by Brandenburg as well, but remained under the claim of the emperors until 1742. The Piast dynasty is a line of Kings and dukes that ruled Poland from its beginnings as an independent state up to 1370. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The double-headed eagle The Holy Roman Empire was a mainly Germanic conglomeration of lands in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ... The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ... Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia. ...

Image File history File links Lower_Silesia_coat_of_arms. ... Image File history File links Lower_Silesia_coat_of_arms. ...

In Prussia (1742-1945)

Most of Silesia became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1742 after the First Silesian War and was turned into the Province of Silesia, divided into the districts of Lower Silesia (Liegnitz), Middle Silesia (Breslau), and Upper Silesia (Oppeln). Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria (and their changing allies) for control of Silesia. ... Silesia was the province of Prussia since 1740 till 1918. ... Legnica ( , formerly Lignica; German: ) is a town in Silesia in southwestern Poland. ... WrocÅ‚aw, (Polish pronunciation: (?), Czech: , German: ( (helpÂ· info)), Latin: Wratislavia or Vratislavia) is the capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, situated on the Oder River (Odra). ... Motto: none Voivodship Opole Municipal government Rada Miasta Opola Mayor Ryszard ZembaczyÅ„ski Area 96,2 kmÂ² Population - city - urban - density 128 800 250 000 1338/kmÂ² Founded City rights - 1217 Latitude Longitude 50Â°40 N 17Â°56 E Area code +48 77 Car plates OP Twin towns Alytus, Agii...

The area around Görlitz in Upper Lusatia was added to Lower Silesia in 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars. GÃ¶rlitz ( pronunciation, Lusatian: Zhorjelc, Czech ZhoÅ™elec) is a town in Germany on the river NeiÃŸe, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony, opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, with which it was united until 1945. ... Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian ÅuÅ¾ica, Lower Sorbian ÅuÅ¾yca, Polish ÅuÅ¼yce, Czech LuÅ¾ice) is a historical region between the BÃ³br and Kwisa rivers and the Elbe river in the eastern German states of Saxony and Brandenburg, south-western Poland (Lower Silesian Voivodeship) and the northern... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack Gebhard von BlÃ¼cher Duke of Brunswick Prince of Hohenlohe Mikhail Kutuzov...

By the beginning of the 20th century Lower Silesia had a predominantly German-speaking population. After World War I, Upper Silesia was divided between Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, while Lower Silesia remained in Germany. The Prussian Province of Silesia was reorganized into the Provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul... Lower Silesia (German Niederschlesien) was a province of Prussia which together with Upper Silesia (Oberschlesien) formed most of the historical region Silesia until the end of World War II. Silesia was ceded by Austria to Prussia in 1742, and in 1919 divided into Upper and Lower Silesia. ... P.G Wodehouse was interned in Upper Silesia at Tost during WWII ...

After 1945

In 1945 after World War II Lower Silesia east of the Lusatian Neisse was assigned to Poland by the conquest of the Soviet Union and its Allies and its German population was expelled by brutal force. From 1945-1975 Lower Silesia was reorganized into Wrocław Voivodeship. As a result of the Local Government Reorganisation Act (1975), Poland's administration was reorganized into 49 voivodeships, four of them in Lower Silesia: Jelenia Góra , Legnica, Wałbrzych and Wrocław Voivodeships (1975-1998). As a result of the Local Government Reorganisation Act of 1998, these four provinces were joined into the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (effective 1 January 1999), whose capital is Wrocław. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The Lusatian Neisse (German Lausitzer Neiße, Polish Nysa Łużycka, Czech Lužická Nisa) is a river in the Czech Republic (54 km) and on Polish-German border (198 km), in total 252 km long. ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The flight and expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the escape and mass deportation of people considered Germans (both Reichsdeutsche and Volksdeutsche) from Soviet-occupied areas of Europe during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... Wroclaw Voivodeship Wroclaw Voivodeship (Polish: wojewÃ³dztwo wrocÅ‚awskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in years 1975â€“1998, superseded by Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ... A Voivodship (also voivodeship, Romanian: Voievodat, Polish: WojewÃ³dztwo, Serbian: Vojvodstvo or Vojvodina) was a feudal state in medieval Romania, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Serbia (see Vojvodina), ruled by a Voivod (voivode). ... Jelenia GÃ³ra Voivodeship Jelenia Gora Voivodeship (Polish: wojewÃ³dztwo jeleniogÃ³rskie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975â€“1998, superseded by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ... Legnica Voivodeship Legnica Voivodeship (Polish: wojewÃ³dztwo legnickie) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975â€“1998, superseded by Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ... Image:Wabrzych Voivodship 1975. ... Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

The small section of Lower Silesia east of the Lusatian Neisse which remained in Germany is divided between the districts of Görlitz and Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis in Saxony and Oberspreewald-Lausitz in Brandenburg. GÃ¶rlitz ( pronunciation, Lusatian: Zhorjelc, Czech ZhoÅ™elec) is a town in Germany on the river NeiÃŸe, in the Bundesland (Federal State) of Saxony, opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, with which it was united until 1945. ... The Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis (German for district of Lower Silesian Upper Lusatia) is the eastermost Kreis (district) of Saxony and Germany. ... The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen; Sorbian: Swobodny Stat Sakska) is a federal state of Germany. ... Oberspreewald-Lausitz is a Kreis (district) in the southern part of Brandenburg, Germany. ... (Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of Germanys sixteen BundeslÃ¤nder (federal states). ...

External Link

Contents

History

Early history

Feudal fragmentation of Poland

The Bohemian Crown and Austria (1348-1742)

In Prussia (1742-1945)

After 1945

External Link

See also

Contents

History var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

Early history

Feudal fragmentation of Poland

The Bohemian Crown and Austria (1348-1742)

In Prussia (1742-1945)

After 1945

External Link

See also

History